Red Cross really needs blood. Here's how to help

New York-Pennsylvania area is short by about 3,000 units this summer

The American Red Cross has issued an emergency request for donations of all blood types. (Times Union archive)

The American Red Cross has issued an emergency request for donations of all blood types. (Times Union archive)

Image
1of/4

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 4

The American Red Cross has issued an emergency request for donations of all blood types. (Times Union archive)

The American Red Cross has issued an emergency request for donations of all blood types. (Times Union archive)

Red Cross really needs blood. Here's how to help

1 / 4

Back to Gallery

ALBANY — The American Red Cross is in urgent need of blood.

The national humanitarian organization and its regional chapter say they're in the midst of an emergency shortage of blood donations, and are calling on local community members to consider rolling up a sleeve.

Supplies are being distributed to hospitals faster than donations are coming in, they said, putting accident and burn victims, heart surgery and organ transplant patients, and anyone receiving treatment for leukemia, cancer or sickle cell disease at risk.

"Unlike many other lifesaving medical treatments, blood donations cannot be manufactured and stockpiled," said Chris Hrouda, president of Red Cross Blood Services.

Red blood cells have a shelf life of 42 days, while platelets are good for just five days. One donation of blood can save up to three lives.

"We need both new and current blood donors to make an appointment as soon as possible to help patients battling illness and injury," he said.

New York and a portion of Pennsylvania are currently experiencing a shortfall of just over 3,000 units of blood, said Patty Corvaia, spokeswoman for the Red Cross New York-Penn Blood Services Region.

Donations typically slide in the summer, she said, but this year's shortage is particularly severe. Last year at this time there was a shortage of just over 200 units.

Part of the problem is that school is out, she said. Local college and high school students typically account for about 20 percent of blood donations during the school year. Summer is also a busy time for people in general, Corvaia said, due to vacations, graduations, weddings and other outings.

"We've also seen a trend in fewer new donors and more lapsed donors — people who have donated in the past but haven't made an appointment to donate in the past year," she said. "So all those things we believe are having a significant impact on our collections at this point."

Summer's an especially bad time for a blood shortage, as accidents involving cars, motorcycles, bicycles, boats and pedestrians tend to increase.

Are you interested in giving blood? Here's what you need to know:

Donors must be at least 16 years old, weigh at least 110 pounds and be in generally good health to give blood.

Your blood type doesn't matter. All types are needed. Type O blood is especially coveted — O negative is the universal blood type and what emergency officials reach for when there is no time to determine a patient's blood type, while O positive is the most common blood type and able to be transfused to Rh-positive patients of any blood type.

Make sure you are well rested and hydrated, and have eaten iron- and protein-rich foods in the days prior to your donation.

The Red Cross Blood Donor App may prove useful to those looking to make regular donations; it contains a digital version of your donor card, information about upcoming drives, allows you to schedule appointments, displays your donation history, and even alerts you when someone receives a transfusion of your blood gift.